Warm Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake

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Happy March! February flew by and I am hoping March does the same. Now that March is here it means we are closer and closer to the wonders of spring and summer. I can't wait until the Farmer's Market in my town starts back up so I can bring loads of fresh produce home. I am also excited to possibly start a garden of our own, we will see if I have a green thumb in me. Now on to this delicious dessert.

The reason I started talking about fresh produce is because raspberries are a bit of a splurge right now. If you are willing to splurge on a small package, I suggest making this delicious dessert. Technically you don't even need the raspberries on top because the flavoring comes from jam. They just look pretty on top :) This dessert reminds me of the lava cakes that are oh so chocolately and full of goodness, but instead it has a hint of raspberry flavoring mixed in.

The cake can be made the night before and then reheated for 15 minutes before you serve it to your guests. The frosting oozes over the entire cake. My sister suggested doubling the frosting so that the entire cake was coated evenly. That was a slight change to the original recipe. The pictures here don't show the oozing, but I wanted to take pictures in the natural light. You can serve this with some vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream. This will definitely be a show-stopping dessert.

What you'll do:Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan generously (I used a spring pan).Make frosting:Chop chocolate coarsely- doesn't have to be perfect. In a small heavy saucepan bring jam, cream, and chocolate to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until smooth.Pour frosting into cake pan. Like I said above, I doubled the frosting quantity. I think next time I would do it one and a half times.

Make cake batter:In a bowl whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth then whisk in milk, vanilla, and jam. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients--flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture in batches alternately with cocoa mixture, making sure to begin and end with flour mixture. Beat well after each addition.

Pour batter evenly over frosting mixture and bake in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted into cake comes out clean (frosting on bottom will still be liquid). Cool cake slightly in pan on a rack, 10 to 20 minutes.

You can make the cake 1 day ahead. To do this cool completely in pan and leave in pan, covered, at room temperature. Reheat cake, uncovered, at 350°F. 10 to 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and twist pan gently back and forth on a flat surface to loosen cake. Invert a cake plate with a slight lip over cake pan and, holding pan and plate together with both hands, invert cake onto plate. Frosting will cover cake and run onto plate. Serve cake garnished with raspberries.